UK packaging industry faces workforce ‘ticking time bomb’

Home to the UK’s only undergraduate packaging apprenticeship, Sheffield Hallam University’s Peter MacQueen is advocating an educational solution.

Given the significant challenge of fewer young professionals entering the UK packaging industry, MacQueen stressed the need for more immediate action to secure the industry’s future.

“It’s no secret that the UK packaging industry has a major problem in attracting, developing and retaining talent. We must be serious about a solution. The UK packaging industry is a world leader in many respects, but what happens five, ten years down the line when we don’t have the workforce to deliver this, particularly in the more specialist technical skills? We are falling behind, and this is a time bomb that we must defuse, and quickly.

“There are many reasons for this, but it all comes back to how we lay the foundation – education. It is the cornerstone of progress in the packaging industry, but our options were limited. In the US and Germany, there are very established programs arming the next generation of packaging professionals with sector-specific skills and competencies, but we are lagging behind in the UK. This is what makes Sheffield Hallam’s Professional Bachelor of Apprenticeship Packaging course so essential in addressing these challenges; there is nothing else available like it in the UK.

He acknowledged that the packaging sector does not have the same “shine” as many other engineering-driven industries and warned that it is a task to attract new young talent to the industry.

“At the same time, we need to improve the skills of future leaders in the sector. Our course is designed to do just that, combining academic study with practical, ageless work experience.”

Designed in collaboration with industry experts, the Sheffield Hallam Higher Degree Apprenticeship Packaging Professional BSc curriculum covers a wide range of subjects including materials science, sustainability theory, supply chain knowledge, business management and legislative awareness.

“Our course, the only one of its kind in the UK, is designed with this in mind. Arm the next generation of packaging professionals to take us forward,” he added. “Places are limited to ensure every student can fully engage, so we invite packaging professionals and companies to join us in shaping the future of the industry by signing up.”